Traveling to Bogota in July -- A few questions!

warghost says on Apr 26, 2005, 19:59:

Is true you are going to find Military Police in the Tequendama´s entrance, but that´s becouse is one of the most important hotel´s in Bogotá, where politics, presidents and many clebrities stay in. It is located at down town, in front of National Museum, near Plaza de Toros la Santa Maria, the planetarium, and there are lot´s of fine restaurants, cafés and shoping places (specialy jewerly).

All malls are open on sundays, yo might want to chek out Centro Andino, Unicentro and Hacienda Santa Barbara.

And also please go eat Hamburguesas el Corral, and find out what a real hamburger is.

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platano says on Apr 26, 2005, 21:40:

One word Bookstores!

Don't miss out on the great bookstores in Bogotá! They have many books which you simply cannot find easily in bookstores in other parts of the world. Not even easily through Amazon.com. And you can meet fascinating people in Bogota's bookstores. Many bookstores have cafes in them or attached. Libreria Nacional for examle has tremendous ice cream. Other bookstores have pastries, good coffee, herbal tea like manzanilla. You can't go wrong with what bookstores have to offer: good food, bright women, and intellectual stimulation!

Platano
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plátano

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bogota says on Apr 26, 2005, 22:08:

Lodging www.bogotaapartments.com

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platano says on Apr 26, 2005, 22:13:

Oh, my! You can't find a room in a bookstore?

A bookstore contains two things: books with information, and knowledgeable people. Bookstores include guide books and maps of Bogota which contain information (phone numbers, addresses, FAX, etc. of hotels which can be reserved)

I think a bookstore would be a good place to start for finding a room.

Platano
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plátano

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platano says on Apr 26, 2005, 22:29:

You are right if you want advanced reservations... But the internet cannot replace human beings or books, the two things you find in bookstores. The full-text of guide books is not even available on the internet, as the information is copyrighted.

My style was always to arrive and talk to people and let the adventure unfold. I realize other people want to go directly from the airport to the hotel and know a room is waiting for them.

1,000 times faster on the Internet? For some information. Phone numbers, etc. For other information the internet doesn't have the information. (For example, the full-text of travel books which CAN be found in bookstores, but CANNOT be found on the internet.) If you rely solely on the internet you will be missing MUCHA INFORMACION!

A human being can give you more detailed information: was the mattress firm or soft, were there cockroaches, what was the texture of the walls, was there a peculiar smell, what exactly did they offer for breakfast, was the clerk friendly or grouchy? A human being with experience can answer those questions. The internet most likely will not.

Human beings can be found in bookstores. Human beings are very good at conversing and providing information specific to your questions. Human beings also smile, use pleasant smelling perfume, provide a visual experience, and sometimes a tactile experience that the internet will never be able to provide. Sometimes a human being can make you fall in love with just the sound of the voice. The internet is a very, very, very poor substitute for human beings found in bookstores.

In fact, if that human being is a Paisa woman, the internet is about 1,000 times worse!

Platano Q., Defensor de Las Librerias Colombianas
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plátano

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buster says on Apr 27, 2005, 06:01:

Hotels So, being that the hotel Tequendama has military police, would u say that it is safer than most other hotels? Or would that be a downside, being that many famous people stay there, there might be more thievery or trouble in that area?

Anyone know anything about the Radisson?

Thanks

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Apr 27, 2005, 06:11:

That area we Called Centro In That area we Calle it Centro International, Last time I went there, there were a few Army, hardly at all. In The centro International you can find many travel agencies, nice caffes like Oma, nice shops, and lots of souvenirs shops near. Opposite is the Candelaria church a very old church go and check it very colonial I got married there :-), Casa Vieja restaurant is Opposite too, and the Colpatria Building the talles in Bogota where you can go up I see the views.
Thieves? there are thieves everywhere in Bogota, The hotel is very nice.

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platano says on Apr 27, 2005, 07:07:

Very good, Mario! Yes, we are human beings! But my point remains that the internet does not have full-text of copyrighted books.
There are 120 million books out there and the number on the internet as e-books is less than 1%.

If you can point me to the full-text of THIS IS BOGOTA (Ediciones Gamma) on the internet I will concede and stop talking about bookstores. This book IS available in Bogota's bookstores along with thousands of other books not available on the internet. Which is why I talk about bookstores. If you rely solely on the internet, you are going to miss MUCHA INFORMACION.

And when I get to Bogota I will experience the big Yellow Lab dog at the entrance and pet him, but the internet will not allow me to do so. First, a video of the Yellow Lab doesn't exist on the internet. Touch is not allowed either. Second, bandwidth won't allow it where I am: the connections are dial-up.

Platano
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plátano

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platano says on Apr 27, 2005, 07:37:

Mario, let's distinguish between surface and deep web... On the surface web, accessible by Google and other search engines, you find mostly full-text of books in the public domain (not copyrighted). These are older titles.

On the deep web, accessible with an authentication or password, you can find e-books of recent copyrighted books. These are not free. Someone is paying. Your VISA card, a library, advertising, etc.

The deep web is 400 times larger than the surface web you access through Google. (see citation below)

You cannot find full-text of copyrighted books like THIS IS BOGOTA on the free, surface web. I asked you to point me there. Just ain't there. Neither are the other thousands of books in Bogota's bookstores. Bookstores are important sources of information not available on the surface web.

Platano
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DEEP WEB
Publicly accessible information available via the World Wide Web but not retrievable using search engines that rely on crawlers or spiders, for example, data in file formats such as PDF, database content accessible only by query, information contained in frames, etc. The number of documents available in the deep web is estimated to be 400-500 times greater than the amount of content retrievable via conventional search engines (the "surface Web"), with over half of the "hidden" content residing in topic-specific searchable databases. Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science

plátano

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juanalejo says on Apr 27, 2005, 08:19:

Hotels Just because the Tequendama has military at the door it does not mean the other hotels are less safe. It only has to do with the high profile people who stay there or have meetings there on a regular basis. If you want to stay in downtown the Tequendama is a good hotel, but depending on the floor it maybe better or not as good. It is close to the National musuem and a good set of restaurants. But to go to La Candelaria you still have to take a taxi, walking is quite a way. Radisson is a good hotel, highly recommended by the American Embassy, full of American business men, across from the Hacienda mall and walking distance from the town of Usaquen in north Bogota. In the hotel price range you are looking my favourite are Charleston and Victoria Regia, nice boutique hotels near the Zona Rosa, very walkable areas and near Andino and Atlantis malls. Lots of restaurants in the area. The Casa Medina, very chic hotel lots of very chic restaurants within walking distance, not many malls around except for Granahorrar mall which is so so. La Fontana is beautiful hotel, just not much not walk to except for Unicentro mall. Conclusion, Tequendama in downtown easy to get to touristy stuff, but nothing to walk at night to. I would stay north where I can move easier to restaurants and night activity.

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platano says on Apr 27, 2005, 14:10:

OK, Mario, we are going step by step now.... Elsewhere on PBH there is a listing of over 300 books on modern Colombian history available in Colombian bookstores and libraries. (see http://www.poorbuthappy.com/colombia/node/7206)

Take a guess how many of those books are on the surface web full-text using the internet.

Zero, zip, nada, no cigar, the surface web doesn't have the information. The internet will not help you.

Bookstores and libraries do have the books.

Platano
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plátano

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go2pr says on Apr 27, 2005, 14:32:

"Oh, ok platano, that's distinguished now. Thanks."

lol

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platano says on Apr 27, 2005, 14:58:

Finally! We arrive at the truth..... Since PBH is about helping people find information on Colombia it is important that it be established where the information in books on Colombia is found: in bookstores and libraries. I don't want people wasting their time using the internet trying to find nonexistent information.

Conclusion: anyone on PBH who wants information on Colombia should not restrict their search to the small amount of information available on the surface web. Go to bookstores, libraries, and the deep web for more information on Colombia.

By the way studies have been done at the University of California School of Information Management and Systems on where information is stored worldwide. The surface web has 167 terabytes, the deep web 91,850 terabytes. USA research libraries have 2,000 terabytes. So you can see with a Google search of the free surface web you are searching a very small percentage of available information. (A terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes.)

I hope someone has learned something new on PBH today about finding information on Colombia! Some people actually mistakenly believe "it's all on the web"! LOL!

Platano
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plátano

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platano says on Apr 27, 2005, 16:44:

Hey, Mario, I use the web to book airlines but... not to book hotels. I got nothing against using the web as long as its limitations are kept in mind. I try to use the appropriate tool needed according to the situation.

Have fun in Bogota!

Platano
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plátano

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Jack Smith says on Apr 27, 2005, 20:23:

Stay at Dona Flor's! Dona Flors Guest House
If you are in need of lodging in Bogota I can recommend Dona Flor's Guest House located just about 100 meters from the entrance to the US Embassy for visas. She owns a large house and rents 6 rooms many with private bath and hot water. Hot water can be difficult to find in Bogota at times. Her price includes breakfast and there are some nice pastry shops aand restaurants right by her place. The area is secure with patrols
passing by all day being so close to the Embassy.

Casa de Huespedes Dona Flor
Flor de Garcia
Owner
a la derecha de la embajada, pasando el parque

Carrera 44C No. 22A-16-Quinta Paredes-Bogota
Tele: 011-57-1-269-8694 or 011-57-1-269-7436 FAX 011-57-1-269-3926
If you need someone who speaks English call Midia at 011-57-1-269-2530 who will let Dona Flor know you want to stay there.

Dona Flor charges around $20 to $30 a night but she may bargain if your stay is for an extended period. This is the best place I know of if you have to go to the embassy and this place is about 7.5 minutes from the airport. She can have her taxi man friend pick you up. He is very friendly as he gave us a tour of BOG one day in his van. The phone numbers above are for calling from the US. For Europeans the country code starts with 57 and the city code is 1 then the rest of the numbers above. She is located basically between North Bogota and the business center and Candaleria. Taxis and buses pass right up the street from her house and she can direct you to the right bus to get where you may have to go if you prefer to avoid taxis.

Very friendly lady and very good place to stay. We will be there a third time next spring! BTW The only thing I get from mentioning her place is the satisfaction of helping YOU and her!!

Here it is again......

Good place to stay in Bogota....

Dona Flor's son is there and he speaks English!
Submitted by Jack Smith on Sat, 04/23/2005 - 21:55.
Dona Flor's son is there so you don't need to call Midia or Claudia but the first two numbers I posted above since her son speaks English.

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